The Fall and Rise..

[Ricky Grayson]

After a few delays due to unforeseen circumstances, something Mister Haly had hated, the show had to go on, the people of Gotham had been patient enough. As the big top lit the Gotham night up, flocks of people made their way from the leisure of their homes to the circus to enjoy a family oriented night where they could clear their minds and enjoy something good for a change. Gotham had been hit with a few shots from losing their district attorney that was pegged to be a mega part of the change of culture to almost losing Bruce Wayne. They deserved a night of peace and fun, Haly's Circus would supply them with it.

"Ricky! Ricky! You're my hero!"

A little boy, probably no older than 10 sprinted towards Ricky Grayson with a 'Darin' Flyin' Graysons' shirt on. Ricky turned his head and pulled the specialized motorcycle helmet off of his head and clutched it at his side as Ricky smiled and nodded towards the boy. The one thing Ricky's parents taught him was to be humble in life and to never forget where he came from. Ricky's heroes too were circus performers and he never was shunned by them, there was no reason to do that to a kid. There had been several times, especially after he messed up a trick where he could easily wave off the fans but he didn't, he used them as fuel to keep getting better.

// Ricky]: What's up big man?!

The kid slid in the dirt on his heels as he handed a promotional picture of Ricky on his dirt-bike in the process of doing a flip as Ricky grabbed hold of it and held it up to the light.

// Ricky]: You like the quad-somersault?

// Boy]: Heck yeah! You're the only person to be able to do that Ricky! You're a BOSS!

Smiling, Ricky was handed a red magic marker and pressed the tip across the pic and looked towards the boy- Ricky could see the excitement stretched over his face in the form of a smile.

// Ricky]: What's your name kid?

// Boy]: Drake.. Well.. It's actually Tim, but I hate that name.. People tease me about it a lot so I go by my last name.. Drake..

// Ricky]: Ah, it's cool..

Scribbling the pen which had a semi-legible "To Drake" on the top, right above the back wheel of the bike..

// Ricky]: You watch us on the 'net too?

Drake nodded and flashed a toothless smile.

// Drake]: Sure do! I told my dad that once I'm old enough I'm gonna join the circus and be a performer too! I don't think he likes the idea too much but it won't stop me.. I swear it won't.

// Ricky]: Yeah.. We need more people that wanna be here, you'd fit in well Drake. Well..

Handing the signed pic towards Drake, Ricky smiled again.

// Ricky]: You want a p-

Before Ricky could finish, two more individuals stepped up, both dressed in very casual, yet respectable attire. They looked really well-to-do, and that was the beauty of the show. It allowed all the different social classes through cities to come together as one to enjoy something in common.

"Mister Grayson.. My name is Jack- this is Janet.. And that's our son Timothy-"

// Drake]: .. Drake..

Patting his son on the head, Jack smiled.

// Jack]: Yes.. We're the Drakes. We're big fan of yours, do you think we could get a picture with you and your parents too? If it's not too much to ask..

Up ahead in the distance, Johnny and Mary Grayson overheard the request as they stepped from near their belongings and stepped up- Johnny patted Jack on the back as Mary stepped before Janet with a smile across her face.

// Mary]: Ah, so the Drakes, I've heard of your names across Gotham since we've been here.. You guys give big donations to the circus too, don't you?

Janet nodded with a humble smile on her face.

// Janet]: Yes.. Yes we do. We've been big supporters of the circus- Jack and I actually met at a circus and we just love the entertainment it brings.

// Johnny]: Glad ya like it.. My bog here? He's gonna be the next big thing as far as acts go!

Pulling Ricky towards him, Ricky fired off a laugh as Drake, he seemed happy, but he longed to have a relationship like that with his own father. It wasn't easy, but Ricky and Johnny had the system down. Noticing the look on Drake's face though, Ricky nudged his father in the stomach.

// Ricky]: We should all snap a pic together..

Johnny let off a nod as he looked towards Jack.

// Johnny]: Yeah, a pic would be cool.. No problemo.

Gathering together, both the Graysons and Drakes came together in what.. little would they know serve as the beginning of a bond that'd last through life. Once they mixed together, Jack tossed a camera to an on-comer as Johnny called out to the bearded fellow with overalls on.

// Johnny]: LUMBER! Take a pic for us!

The man turned and caught the camera in mid-flight before messing with a few of the buttons- which sent a flash off as the camera was pointed down at the dirt.

// Ricky]: You just took a pic of your feet, dude!

// Lumber]: Ah! These contraptions are so complicated! Whatever happened to gett'n your pic sketched out by a artist with an easel and pencils?!

// Johnny]: .. It's 2012, Lumber..

// Lumber]: So I heard!

Figuring out what needed to be done to snap the image- Lumber raised the silver camera up and held it a few inches in front of his face. Once things were centered he nodded..

// Lumber]: Alright say cheeeeeeeeese..

// Group]: Cheeeeesse..

>FLASH<

// Lumber: There ya go..

Handing the camera back to Jack, Jack nodded a silent thank you to the big man as he walked off and left the two families to talk a bit more as Ricky stuck his hand out to Drake.

// Ricky]: Alright little man, I've gotta get some stuff done before the show- I've gotta make sure the tires are inflated properly and all that boring, technical stuff.. It was nice meeting you though.. I hope you enjoy the show, bro! I'll be looking for you in the crowd.

Slapping one last high-five with Drake, Ricky excused himself from the group as Johnny turned towards Jack with his hand stretched out for a handshake.

// Johnny]: Yeah, we better get going too..

In the distance, a voice was heard over what was a PA..

"THE SHOW WILL START IN FIVE MINUTES! FIVE MINUTES! PLEASE TAKE A SEAT, THE SHOW WILL BEGIN SOON! FIVE MINUTES! FIVE MINUTES!"

Pointing in the direction of the voice, Johnny nodded.

// Johnny]: .. And that's our cue. Thanks for the support.. Jack.. Janet.. and.. Drake..?

The boy nodded in approval as Johnny winked.

// Johnny]: You guys take care and enjoy the show!

Johnny and Jack exchanged handshakes as Mary and Janet did the same. As Johnny passed Drake, he ruffled his hair, giving the boy a smile as they moved back towards their stuff to get ready for the show. All as they did so.. Beyond their knowledge, a lurker had snuck out of the backroom area with a backstage-staff pass around his neck. What he had done- what his intentions were, was unknown.. But it couldn't be good. The lurker had a familiar face and had a Gotham Knight's hat pulled to the back.. As he walked, he bumped shoulders with an on-coming Ricky Grayson, but he didn't turn to apologize.

// Ricky]: Hey!

Before Ricky could say anything more, the man had passed through a group of people and probably vanished out of the area.. This left Ricky with an arch to his eyebrow as he shrugged it off- there was no time as the show was on the horizon. Moving back towards his black and red bike with gold outline over the flames, he did what he needed to do technically- but stlll kept the hunch on his shoulder.

[Bruce Wayne - The Batman]

There was about three minutes left until the show began. People were still finding their ways to their seats. Among them was a certain citizen of Gotham- one that didn't take long to stay hidden. That man was Bruce Wayne. People began to take notice of Bruce almost immediately as he entered the big top tent. This was the first public sighting of Bruce Wayne since his accident. He seemed to be in good spirits; Bruce was dressed nicely but not nice enough to standout among the crowd of Gotham's citizens. As good-spirited as Bruce seemed, his injuries were still apparent. The bandage on his forehead was removed, revealing a nasty scrape that seemed to have partially healed. Bruce was also sporting a cane to help with an apparent limp he had. Despite his injuries, Bruce was all smiles to the people of Gotham, but he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself; he wasn't the show after all. That didn't stop the event staff, however. The voice that spoke over the PA before was heard again once more- this time acknowledging Wayne's appearance.

"Ladies and Gentlemen- please give a hand to Mr. Bruce Wayne, who is in attendance this evening! This is his first appearance since the terrible accident he was involved in only a few weeks ago that almost cost him his life!"

A majority of the crowd in attendance gave Bruce a great ovation, some even courteous enough to stand. Bruce seemed very humbled by the gesture even though he didn't want the spotlight drawn on him. He stood up from the front row seat he had just taken and waved to the crowd. Bruce sat back down easily in his seat with the help of his cane and prepared for the start of the show.

"AND NOW FOR THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR... IT'S SHOWTIME!!!!"

The lights cut off from above as the fans applauded. Bruce smiled and sat back in his seat, applauding as well. The show was now beginning.

[Arthur Curry - Orin]

It had been a pretty crazy few weeks for Arthur Curry, not only did his father get shot.. but he also made a new friend, someone who just over the course of the short time period they've been associated with each other had grown to be something like a brother.

Through it all though, Arthur learned that even in the most darkest of times, there was a glimmer of hope and all you needed to do was embrace it. His father was recovering from the gunshot wound but the search for the man that did it? It lead he and Oliver Queen to several different locations, first off Metropolis where they ran into a strange reporter that was built more like a linebacker that not only pulled off a feat that seemed impossible, but also fed them info regarding a kinda shady deal regarding a political crook in Oswald Cobblepot who met with the too clean Lex Luthor.

That raised questions. Arthur had always had an inquisitive, investigative mind and he knew after talking to Clark Kent that something shady was going on which lead both he and Oliver Queen to Gotham City, the one and only gloomy capital of the world. Oliver donated quite a bit of money to Haly's Circus earlier in the year as he was huge in 'expressions of art,' and due to the nature of the gunshot wound that Arthur's father suffered.. It was a good place to start the search for clues of what went down. The way the gunshot was fired, it was a trained professional.. one that could definitely come from a circus background. Since they needed to check up on Cobblepot's activity, they figured they'd drop in on Haly's Circus.. They figured why not, they were already in town..



Clapping could be heard after the announcement that the show was about to start, Arthur Curry and Oliver Queen remained near the entrance of the tent with hoods pulled over their heads. They didn't want to take away the attention from performers, but at the same time was pretty keen on catching some of the show. Arthur nodded in Bruce's direction as he looked totally banged up, his body seemed much more brittle than usual. Ollie looked in Bruce's direction and sighed.

".. Man he looks wrecked.."

Arthur and Bruce had a run-in in the past, a positive one. When Bruce's boat stalled out in the Atlantic Ocean, Curry had swam out after hearing the distress call and had used his mechanic skills to get the boat moving again. It wasn't anything special but it was a moment that Bruce told Arthur he'd never forget, Arthur doubted that.. he was a cynic.

"Yeah, I don't ever recall seeing him look as shaken up as he does now.. That accident must of took a lot out of him, more than he'd like to acknowledge."

Running his hand over his blonde goatee, Arthur let his eyes look through the room, he had been called a lot as a child, he was considered a 'freak' by some's standards but he never let it bother him. The people that performed in the circus, Arthur applauded them for continuing to keep the show going despite being called all sorts of terrible names.

"You see anything that stands out? From the looks of things for me.. It seems like an ordinary city enjoying the circus man.. I say we stay until after that daredevil family wraps up and we see what we can scoop up on Cobblepot. There's gotta be something on him to implicate him on being dirty.. We just gotta look hard enough. Something tells me we're gonna stumble across something big.. I know it."

Ollie knew Arthur had a point, Cobblepot's dealing had to end somewhere that they could put a finger on it.

"That sounds good.. I think though, we should go over and shake hands for the camera with Bruce, let'em know that we're supporting him through his hard-times. I think it'd help a lot through the rehab process to know he's got people that wanna see him get better, not for the money or success he brings Gotham, but because he's a human.. And humans deserve a the chance to live life how they see fit."

Arthur shook his head and let off a little laugh.

"Man you're way too political. Just enjoy the show! Enjoy the peace and quiet! The second you take that hood down, people are gonna be flanking you like a damn first person shooter. I mean if you're dead-set on going there and talking to Wayne then I'm down for it.. But honestly? I'd prefer the quiet.. the anonymous aspect of it all.."

"You completely suck at dropping hints."

Holding his arms out slightly, Arthur shrugged as Ollie laughed.

".. I think it'd be the right thing to do.. The next intermission, I say we make a play to at least shake Bruce's hand, we don't need to make it too obvious.. He should recognize me and he should recognize you.. He's a pretty low-key guy too so he won't make a big deal out of it."

"If you say so, brother.. I hope so. I'm not really in the mood to be turned into social project number one where I've gotta show how long I can hold my damn breath under water."

Reaching out, Ollie slapped Arthur on the shoulder and fired off that mischievous grin of his before Arthur laughed again.

"You've gotta learn to take it in stride, man! Life ain't always easy.. But man, take what you can before there ain't nothing left, especially with these power hungry jackasses taking everything away from the needy. You're a good guy, enjoy the spoils, AC!"

As humble and as humane Ollie was, those words didn't sound right from him. It wasn't because Ollie was lying, Arthur knew that wasn't the case, he believed everything that left Queen's lips. Rather, Arthur couldn't see how Oliver would embrace such an easy life-style when he had it all.

"You really are a modernized Robin Hood, aren't you? But what sucks is, you can't rob yourself to give to the poor, ain't that embezzlement?"

"I manage."

Both shared a laugh at Ollie's remark as they turned their attention back to the show, it seemed as if the first intermission that would be slipped into the show, Arthur and Ollie would make a play to at least let Bruce Wayne know that if all else fails; they had his back. Both Arthur and Ollie knew Bruce didn't need the support, but it was good to offer it anyway.. Nobody knew what the future held for these men.. There may be a time when Bruce Wayne may come in handy..

[Mary Bromfield - Lady Marvel]

To say that Mary Bromfield's day had been eventful one would be comparable the captain of the Titanic tell his passengers we've just hit an iceberg but don't worry folks, it's just a little dent. One of those kinds that you have a set of expectations for and yet none of them fall into proper alignment save for tonight. She wasn't expecting Lex Luthor to grace her office with this shadow this morning anymore than she was expecting to fall out of the sky about 3 minutes after embarking on her first flight in costume as Lady Marvel made a not so memorable debut. She'd done so gracefully however, Making it look to anyone that had seen her that she had landed of her own accord, she stuck the landing well enough but the truth was it had been a disaster. She had a long way to go in terms of coming to grips with how all the magic happened and making it work but she was not a quitter. She was however wondering if she was in possession of all her marbles for even putting this odd looking costume she had homemade in the first place on.

The day went from good to bad to pretty damn cool looking where this CEO was sitting. Lex under an assumed name now was second in comm and under her and had sworn to do everything within his power to indiscreetly help get her company back on track. It of course WAS a bruise to her pride that she needed such outside help but under the circumstances, the fall of the place would devastate her. and if she had to step across the lines a foot or two to do so then so be it.

She was feeling on top of the world now despite all her problems. She was always the optimist. There was just the feeling that things would turn around and come up roses again. Of course for her newly designed other identity the thought had crossed her that she could use someone, an expert of some sort to guide her and help her figure out these damn fool artifacts. Perhaps someone experienced more so in the ways of magic and mysticism than she but those types don't grow on trees.

The tickets she'd handed off to the taker about 45 minutes ago before stepping into the arena had been purchased 3 weeks ago. This was a family show environment and though she no longer had any sort of family to speak of, she'd always loved the circus and animals. She wouldn't have missed this night for anything. Before he did her father, the adopted one, had taken Mary to the circus on more than one occasion. With her pleading he had even made donations before A practice Mary had continued occasionally. She could only imagine what it was like to work in such a place and she did. Dreamed about it quite often. Of course the animal acts were her favorite. The lions and the tigers but the trapeze artists were always breathtaking as well.

"THE SHOW WILL START IN FIVE MINUTES! FIVE MINUTES! PLEASE TAKE A SEAT, THE SHOW WILL BEGIN SOON! FIVE MINUTES! FIVE MINUTES!"

Now at the front of the line and forking over the moolah for a small tub of popcorn and a large soda, a new purse that was bigger than the one she carried yesterday with enough space to not only hold the usual essentials but also her cowl and folded up cape while the rest of her costume was on underneath her sweater and slacks. She had no idea why she'd even chosen to bring the god fprsaken thing but fortunately there was enough time between her returning to her office and leaving for the day to make sure both gauntlets were fully charged. She doubted she'd even have a use for the costume tonight. She hoped not at least but just in case, why tempt fate?

Her seat was reserved, one of the best in the house and yet wouldn't cause her to stick out like a sore thumb. Keeping a low profile was high on her agenda. She merely wanted to enjoy the entertainment and keep her mind off all other responsibilities for the night. Including a mess of documents that had been prepared all this afternoon miraculously and by tomorrow would both be emailed and fed-ex'd to a certain Mr. Mercer..

Right now it was showtime and she was ready with a mouth full of popped kernels when the lights went down. the seats were all filled as far as she could see. Even Bruce Wayne, a friend she'd met through business and had even sent flowers to while he was in the hospital along with a get well card was here in his first public appearance since the accident, As soon as the word showtime blared through the PA system, Mary was on her feet with a sea of others, applauding for both the stars of the show as well as Bruce himself.